5 Things to Keep in Mind while Making Soups

Soups are made by boiling ingredients (vegetables, legumes or meat, sliced onions, pepper, garlic, etc.) in water or broth until they become soft. The nutrients are absorbed into the liquid itself. Soups may be clear or thick. They can be thickened by flour, rice, cornmeal, eggs, butter, starch or cream.
During frying and stewing, vegetables, mushrooms, and meat lose much of their natural nutrients, vitamins and flavour. However, when they are cooked directly in soups, they conserve most of their nutritional value. Even though soups contain less calories than the main dish, they are highly nutritious and filling.

To make healthier soups, remember the following:

• It is always best not to add cream, milk or butter to soups. These do make soups thicker and tastier; however, these also add calories to the soup. Moreover, these bind and lock the vitamins in the soup, and make them unavailable to the body.
• Avoid adding cornflour or maida (plain white flour) to soups. These affect the decongestant benefits of soups.
• Soups should be eaten as soon as they are made to make use of their antioxidant properties.
• Avoid soups from restaurants as these tend to have artificial flavors and ingredients.
• Add herbs like coriander, lemon grass, ginger, garlic, etc. These add to the taste as well as the healing properties of the soup.
• To make the soup a complete meal, you can add chicken, vegetables, or boiled and mashed mung dal or channa dal.
  

Knorr soups combine all the soup advantages and are a great way to bring a wide variety of health-promoting vegetables to your table in one simple meal. For speed and convenience, use it straight from the pack. Or get more creative by using it as a stock and adding your own selection of tasty fresh vegetables. For more ideas, connect with us at http://www.facebook.com/KnorrSoup and share your favorite soup recipes with us.